VC fire district returning to money search

VALLEY CENTER - After deciding to stay out of a new regional
fire department, the Valley Center Fire Protection District may
need to ask voters to increase fees as soon as next year, fire
board members said Tuesday.

District officials have said that they are running a deficit and
could deplete their reserves within a few years without a revenue
increase.

The district maintains two fire stations, one on Lilac Road near
Valley Center Road and another on North Lake Wohlford Road near
Valley Center Middle School, with a budget of around $1.8 million a
year.

If it was in financial difficulty, district officials say they
might have to reduce the number of firefighters on duty below four
at each station.

Last year, the fire district hired a polling firm, SCI
Consulting, to survey residents on whether they would pay more to
keep the district's fire stations running or even pay firefighters
at a third unbuilt fire station.

SCI never sent out the surveys, because a regional panel was
considering merging several backcountry fire agencies including
Valley Center and neighboring Deer Springs. Both districts decided
to opt out of the final lineup this spring.

"It muddied the waters," board President Mel Schuler said. "If
we were going to ask people for money, the community would say: Why
should we do that when the county is taking over?"

Schuler said Tuesday that he'd like SCI to complete the
survey.

"We knew we needed to do it, and now it's time," he said.

Valley Center voters last approved an increase in fees for the
fire district in 2000, although the fees can increase by a maximum
of 2 percent per year.

In contrast, the cost of hiring the California Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection's firefighters increased by 30 percent
in the four years from 2002-06, according to the state legislative
analyst's office.

Residents are charged varying amounts based on the type of
property they own. Owners of a single-family house on 5 acres now
pay two fees as part of their property tax bill that add up to
$201.60 annually, said John Byrne, district administrator.

In November, a SCI consultant told the board that Valley Center
voters might support paying enough to shore up the district's
finances or adding a full-time fire chief.

Those options might cost up to $80 extra per year for a
single-family home. But paying the firefighters to run a third
station would cost an extra $250 per home - probably too much, the
consultant told them.

"We need to make an argument," said board member Oliver Smith on
Tuesday. "We can't go out and shoot for the moon."

The district has had a long-term goal of improving response
times by building a third station, possibly on land it owns across
from Valley Center High School.

Schuler suggested that district officials might examine other
sites, such as the proposed Lilac Ranch development in northern
Valley Center that has yet to be approved.

Complicating the picture is the status of a three-year county
aid package worth more than $500,000 per year, which the district
is using to pay for an extra state firefighter at both
stations.

Although the county's 2007-09 budget plan shifts $3.5 million
for fire district aid from "one-time only" to "ongoing," board
members say they can't count on the Board of Supervisors to
continue the aid after 2009.